Only Time Will Tell
by Earthnfarie
Summary: In the moments before the final battle with Naraku, Kagome reflects on why she can feel the evil hanyou. No real Parings. M for mature situtations.


_Hey all! somehow this slipped through without being published. Oh well, here it is now. _

_For my loyal readers, I will have another story coming out soon that is a Kag X Sess pairing. _

_Enjoy!_

_Rated M for mature situtations, and to be safe._

**I do not own Inuyasha nor do I profit in any way from the writing of this. **

***

"Kagome!" cried a voice.

She didn't turn. There was something different this time.

"That icy bastard will kill you!" he yelled again.

Her feet still moved. She was drawn by the fear in his eyes. Fear! It pulled at her heart, and her feet followed obediently. There was no curt reply to heed her movement. His eyes held hers and she couldn't stop. She hesitated a moment when she stood before him, and bowed.

"Sesshomaru-sama," she breathed, "What are you doing here?"

"Kagome!" he yelled again.

Sesshomaru's gaze drifted briefly to his half brother, and then back to the onna before him. "He has Rin." replied Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands.

As his words past his lips his mask fell. Kagome's heart clenched in dread as she saw the true depth of his feelings exposed only to her. Kagome nodded once. She glanced over her shoulder to her beloved hanyou that wasn't hers anymore. Looking back to

Sesshomaru his mask was back in place, but Kagome could feel the turmoil in his aura.

"We will get her back." she said.

She turned and began back to Inuyasha.

"Don't turn your back on that bastard!" yelled the inuhanyo.

Sesshomaru stayed where he was, ignoring his brother. He had no time for him now. His daughter was in danger. Kagome stopped before the Inutachi. Sango saw the emotions flitting in her eyes that she hid from aura. She glanced at Inuyasha and knew he couldn't tell. He didn't know. He didn't see. She looked over at Sesshomaru's indifferent posture. He and Kagome stood so similar now. They were more alike than they knew. Only she saw. She could feel his aura. Not like Kagome and Miroku, both of whom had spiritual powers, but she could. She knew better. Sesshomaru had come to Kagome for a reason.

"Naraku has taken Rin." she spoke to the others.

"What?! The bastard can't protect his pack?!" Inuyasha shouted.

Kagome ignored him as did Sesshomaru, they really were so much alike.

"We will help him retrieve her." Kagome said firmly.

Inuyasha chuckled. "Asking a _filthy_hanyou for help now bastard?" he taunted his elder half-brother.

Sesshomaru looked at him finally. "No, I ask a miko." he responded. Then he looked away once more into the forest.

"We leave at once." said Kagome, watching Sesshomaru for a moment.

Sango studied her friend. There was so much more going on here than she was telling anyone.

"To where Kagome?" she asked her dear friend/sister.

Kagome met Sango's eyes, and that hidden something was in her eyes again. "To Naraku." she responded quietly.

"How will we do that Kagome? Do you anticipate him to reveal himself?" Miroku asked.

Kagome still held Sango's gaze, and Sango felt her heart clench when she spoke. "No, I will take us to him." she responded tightly.

All eyes were on her now. Before anyone could speak she turned away and went to Sesshomaru. She looked up at him once with unspeakable emotion flooding her face and aura just for the moment, then it was gone. She continued to walk. They followed,

stunned.

*****

They stopped well after dark. Once camp was made and food cooking, the questions began. All attention was on Kagome. Her eyes were on Sesshomaru, whom was standing away from the camp staring onto the distance. She wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't-not in front of the others.

"How can you take us to him Kagome?" asked Sango.

She sighed. She didn't want them to know, but now certain events forced it. "I can feel him." she replied sadly.

A startled grasp ran around the fire. She didn't dare look at any of them now. She didn't want to see the look in their eyes. She didn't want to see the accusations. Sango was the first to speak.

"How long?" she asked softly.

Kagome felt the pinpricks of tears at the corner of her eyes. "Since he took me." she replied, her voice trembling. She hated remembering. She hated knowing. She hated that this was her destiny.

Inuyasha fought back the sting of his failure when it was brought up, and focused on his anger. He stood. "Why didn't you tell us?!" he growled, his voice was low and menacing.

"We aren't ready, but it seems that is what Naraku wants." sighed Kagome.

"We are more than ready. You should have told us wench-" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome rose angrily to her feet. "No we're not!" she hissed at him.

Inuyasha did something he never did before when arguing with Kagome, he cracked his knuckles."You don't get to decide that." he growled back at her.

Kagome glared, not backing down. Her voice was soft and low, not betraying her

emotions. It was almost cold. "Are you ready for Kikyou to go back to hell? Are you ready to see Sango bury her brother? I'm not." she hissed.

Inuyasha lost his menacing demeanor. He glanced at Sango and then jumped into a tree ending the conversation. Kagome didn't need to look over to know that Sango was on the verge of tears. She knew now that Kohaku couldn't be saved. Kagome walked away into the woods. She needed to be alone. She stopped at the nearby river, and sat. She hugged her knees, and let the swell of memories wash over her. She was tired of fighting it.

_***Flashback***_

_It was just an average fight with one of Naraku's minions; at least that's what they_ _thought. It was a distraction and Kagome was kidnapped. The thing had her in its grasp_ _and gagged before she knew what was happening. She couldn't cry out, just be dragged_ _away. As the thing pulled her from her friends blackness claimed her. She woke chained_ _to a wall. She looked around, and could tell this was a palace of some sorts. She was_ _terrified. She knew she was in Naraku's castle. She wasn't alone either. Kohaku sat_

_staring at her. She could see the endless agony that consumed him. She tugged her chains_

_as he watched, and looked around for anything to help herself. Nothing._

"_It's no use." said a voice._

_Kagome stared at the boy in the exterminator outfit. What did she say or ask? Was this a_ _ruse to lure her in?_

"_Kohaku-" she started._

"_I remember killing them all. I remember it all. I remember my sister protecting me with_ _her body. He likes it when I remember." he said, his voice betrayed his dying soul._

"_Why?" asked Kagome._

_A twisted smile crossed his face._ "_He likes me to suffer. He likes to see me like this. He likes seeing what it does to me, to_ _know I killed my family with my own two hands. The blood that is on them never washes_ _away. He likes that." said Kohaku nastily, "He only takes away the memories when he_ _wants me to kill or hurt others. He knows I can't kill or harm others, so he makes_ _me nothing so I can. When it's done he makes me remember again."_

_Kagome crawled to the boy and pulled him into her lap cradling him. She felt her tears_ _falling, but her mind was elsewhere. She was trying to think what Naraku wanted. She_ _had to find a way to free herself and Kohaku. She had to survive. As her mind was_

_whirling she felt Kohaku go ridged in her arms. She looked down to see his face blank,_

_and his eyes a bottomless void. She felt fear like never before. She let her arms fall away_

_from him as he stood. Kagome scuttled back against the wall. Kohaku watched her with_

_empty eyes that made Kagome shiver. Then she felt the other shards. The door slid_ _open and before her was Naraku. He looked at her with lust. The way his eyes roamed_ _her body made her feel so dirty. She tried to make herself a shapeless ball, but Kohaku_

_stepped to her, and gripped her wrist painfully. He pulled her up so she stood before_

_Naraku. Kagome held her chin high. Naraku approached with a smile._

"_Ku, ku, ku, little miko." he laughed.__Tentacles came from him, and wrapped around her arms, legs, body, anywhere they__could grasp. One gripped her neck tightly as he pulled her closer. She struggled to_ _breath._ "_Such a pretty little miko." he cooed._ _The shackles bit into her skin as he pulled her to the end of the chains. A tentacle_ _brushed along her face. Kagome took the chance and reached for her power. It seared_ _him. He growled and flung her against the wall. His tentacles whipped her, slicing her_ _skin. Kagome refused to cry out and again reached for her power. The whipping_ _stopped, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She dared to rise up, and stand defiantly. Naraku sneered at her._

"_Let's see how long you last without your hanyou." he said as he turned to leave._

"_Inuyasha will come save me." Kagome replied confidently._

_Naraku laughed._ "_And how will he find you?" he sneered._ _There was a moment when he said nothing and then Kikyou entered the room._ "_I have both his mikos. Inuyasha won't be able to find you." he smirked._ _Then he chuckled, and left with Kikyou. _

_Kagome slumped to the floor. After several long_ _moments looking at the door, she looked to Kohaku. _

_He was himself again and crying._ "_I'm sorry," he whispered. _

_Kagome pulled him to her, and they sat together._

_*****_

_For weeks Naraku beat and abused her. She always stayed defiant; she never gave into_ _him. He used Kohaku on occasion, making him hurt her. This hurt the boy more than_ _anything when he "awoke" again. Kagome did the best to console him, but it was hard_ _when she never knew when Naraku would take control of him. It was after such a time_ _when she held Kohaku._

"_We'll get out of this. I know we will." she told him, trying to sound cheerfull._

_Kohaku laughed a cold laugh that made her wonder if Naraku had taken over again, but_ _in his eyes it was still the haunted boy._

"_You will Kagome, but not I." he said._

"_Kohaku don't think like that!" she admonished him._

"_Kagome, even if I escape Naraku and his control I don't want to live. Not with knowing_ _everything I've done. I was meant to die once, and I want the mercy of that once more."_ _he said as he grabbed her wrists, and forced her to look into his eyes. "Promise me, that_ _if you free me, you'll let me die."_

"_Kohaku I can't-" gasped Kagome._

"_Promise me!" he begged._

_Kagome began to cry._ "_I promise," she whispered to the broken soul of Kohaku._ _He hugged her, and she returned it staring off into space._ "_I promise." she whispered to herself._

_*****_

_Naraku returned the next day; she saw a dark joy in his eyes, and feared. She backed_ _away from his grasping tentacles until her back was pressed to the wall. He grasped her_ _suddenly and jerked her to him. She cried out as the metal tore her skin and flesh. His_ _tentacles were thrust in her mouth as she did. She tried to scream in horror but nothing_ _got passed the slimy appendage shoved in her throat. Her eyes were wide and she tried_ _to call to her power. She was whipped breaking her concentration and tears flowed free_ _as she prepared for her death. Then the tentacle pulled back so she could breathe, but_ _still invaded her mouth. Another joined it and her mouth was wrenched open. Something_ _hot and thick was poured in. Kagome tried to spit out the liquid, but her mouth and nose_ _were plugged. It was swallow or die. Finally the need for air became too much and_ _Kagome swallowed the foul slimy contents in her mouth. Naraku released her and she_ _gasped for air until the process was completed. Twice more he forced her to swallow_ _before he dropped her. He retreated to a corner away from her to watch_

_Kagome's eyes_ _never left him as she wiped her mouth. The stain on her fingers caught her attention and_ _she looked at them in growing horror. _Blood._ He had forced her to drink blood. She_ _looked at his gleaming grin, and felt a stab of pain radiate from her stomach. _"_What have you done?!" she cried, curling into a ball, twitching in agony. _

_Naraku laughed._ "_I made you drink my blood." he smirked._

_Kagome wanted to scream._ "_Why?" she gasped out instead. _

"_Because you are mine." he growled._

_Pain consumed her. It filtered into every part of her body. She was the pain as it was her._ _There was nothing outside of the pain. It was all there was, and all there ever would be._ _Her eyes saw nothing, and in her mind there was only pain. Then she heard and felt_ _something begin to crack. It was slow and just a low groan of protest at first, but then_ _the crack spread and split. It raced through her, and then in a final shrieking protest it_ _shattered. Her body reacted violently to the revealed part. The pain was seared away by_ _something white hot and comforting. _

_*****_

_Kagome woke panting, and confused. She belated realized she was still in Naraku's_ _castle. He was gone from the room as was Kohaku. She was still chained. She was_ _amazed to find all of her wounds were healed. As she studied her unmarred skin she felt_ _something. It was like, but vastly different, her sensing the jewel shards. She closed her_ _eyes and concentrated. It was moving, and had shards whatever it was. She reached out_ _to it, and recoiled instantly. It was Naraku. She could feel him now and every bit of the_ _jewel. She was aware of every shard and where they were. Then she felt a huge powerful_ _aura heading for her as Naraku was fleeing. She waited, unable to free herself from the_ _chains, for whatever was coming. She knew it was coming for her. She wondered why she_ _could feel what was coming. She felt so much now. Experimenting she pushed outward,_ _expanding herself. She could feel every demon and could tell what they were feeling. She_ _quickly retracted back into herself in her surprise. At that moment the immense aura_ _stepped through the door to her room. She looked up into the molten golden eyes in_ _wonder. She quickly stood and bowed to the Lord of the Western Lands. _

"_Miko." he said._

"_Hai, Sesshomaru- sama?" asked Kagome._

_Kagome was trying to understand what she was feeling from him, which was mainly_ _surprise. He said nothing but watched her. Suddenly his poison whip lashed out. Her_ _aura spiked dangerously along with her power, and then the chains fell away harmlessly._

_He continued to watch her._ "_What has happened here miko?" he asked her._

_She understood it was a command._ "_Naraku had me, and made me drink his blood. I- I don't know what happened after_ _that." she replied._

_He seemed to regard her for a moment. Then turned and strode away. Kagome quickly_ _followed after. He led her through the woods to a hot springs. He turned to her._

"_Wash miko, you reek of the filthy hanyou." he ordered her._

_Kagome nodded, and did so. As she soaked she felt Sesshomaru move away. He was easy_ _to track with how big his aura was. She cleaned her uniform as best she could, but knew_ _the blood stains would never come out and laid it aside. Not long after Sesshomaru_ _returned with a kimono. Kagome gladly took it, and dressed while Sesshomaru faced_ _away._

"_Thank you Sesshomaru- sama I am grateful." she said bowing._

"_Hn." he replied and they began to walk again. _

_Kagome felt something rushing at them, and her fear spiked. She felt something tear from_ _her body. She was gasping on the forest floor. Sesshomaru stood not too far away eyeing_ _her curiously._

"_What was that?" she gasped._

"_You have put up a barrier. Take it down at once." he said cold and indifferent as ever,_ _but his aura said something different. _

_She stood slowly._ "_I- I don't know how." she said softly._

"_Pull back what you have pushed out." he replied as if it were obvious._

_Kagome did so, and felt it rush back into her body. She stumbled when it impacted with_ _her, and then flared her aura looking for what she had felt earlier. Whatever it was, it_ _was gone now. Silent as ever Sesshomaru turned away, and began to walk once more._

_Kagome followed._

_***End Flashback***_

"Kagome?" asked Sango.

She looked up at Sango. She hadn't even heard her friend she was so lost in her

memories. "Yes Sango?" she replied.

Sango sat, and looked at the glistening black water."You never told what happened while Naraku had you. Was- Did you see- Was it bad?" she asked.

Kagome looked at her treasured friend. If this was indeed the end than she would never see her again after it was over. "He was there. He spent a lot of time with me." said Kagome, referring to Kohaku.

Sango just nodded. Tears pooled in her eyes and threatened to spill over. Kagome was answering the questions she couldn't bring herself to ask.

"Sango, he remembers when he isn't doing Naraku's bidding. He remembers it all. He made me promise to-" Kagome's throat closed on the words.

"Promise to what?" She asked because she had to hear what she knew in her heart

already.

"He made me promise to let him have the mercy of death when it's over."

Sango nodded. "Thank you Kagome for telling me." she said. She looked at her friend, resolve shining in her eyes. "Together we will make sure he has that peace." said Sango.

Kagome nodded, and Sango stood, her hands in fists. She disappeared back into the woods. Kagome sat for some time.

"We will get her back." she said softly, knowing that he would hear her anyways. There was no reply but she knew he was listening. "Why did you come that day?" she asked, referring to the day of her transformation.

"I felt raw, unadulterated power like I never had before. It felt like something terrible and yet beautiful had awakened. I wanted to see what it was, and see the blood it would shed in its fury. I found you." came the reply as Sesshomaru stepped out into the moonlight.

Kagome nodded, and rose with her eyes still on the seething river. "Tomorrow will be a terrible day." she said.

"And the blood will finally be shed." said Sesshomaru.

Kagome turned her eyes to Sesshomaru. "Yes it will." she replied.

*****

Kagome led them into the trap. She felt the demons all around her, but kept her aura in check. It wasn't long before the air erupted with a horde of demons. The fight was on. Naraku cowardly stood back and let his minions fight. He held Rin on a leash, and set

Kohaku against his sister. Inuyasha couldn't use his wind scar or other attack for fear of

harming any of the humans present. Kagome resisted sending out a purifying blast for

fear of her demonic companions. So they fought, and they fought and fought.

Kagome watched as her friends tired. Sango had disabled her brother, holding him long enough that Kagome could purify and dig out his shard. He had come to himself just before he passed, and thanked his sister. Now she and Miroku protected his lifeless body from the demons whom sought to devour it. Inuyasha had managed to kill the majority of the demons, and was now assaulting Naraku along side Sesshomaru. They were thwarted

often as he would tug Rin out in front of him. The poor girl was hysterical. Kagome

continued to fire her arrows at demons.

Then she felt an oh-so-familiar tug. Kikyou entered the battle just behind Naraku. Inuyasha stopped his attacks as she went to the evil hanyou. She glared at Inuyasha and then met Kagome's eyes. She smiled, and Kagome knew that she had teamed up with Naraku to get her soul back.

Rage flooded though Kagome. And then she felt the tug of Naraku strengthen. Suddenly it all made sense. Naraku had forced her to drink his blood to try and control her like he controlled Kohaku through the shard. It had gone wrong though, and he had awakened and unlocked her power. He hadn't realized it. He didn't know that he had inadvertently created the one person that could obliterate him.

Kagome now was in complete control, but Naraku thought he was. Kagome dropped her bow, and let her face and eyes go blank. She let her body go to Naraku as if it was indeed controlled and called. She passed Inuyasha and Sesshomaru whom watched in horror, and interest respectively. She could tell from Sesshomaru's aura that he knew she was in control. So she walked to her enemy like she was fodder. She stopped just before him, and let his tentacles caress her. She saw, from the corner of her eye, as Kikyou pulled out a dagger in which to finish her reincarnation.

She lifted her arms, wrists up, as Naraku wanted her too. Instead of being still though, she grasped him. Expression flooded into her face, as she grinned ferally at him. She stretched out her hand, and pushed through his body. She seared away the flesh that she encountered as she grasped for the jewel. She was oblivious to his screams, but not the fact that he dropped Rin's leash, and she fled to her Lord. She grasped the jewel, and

looked from Naraku's eyes to Kikyou. She was frozen in disbelief.

"Thought you would get your soul back? It's not yours anymore; it's mine now." said Kagome, "And it's more than you could ever handle with how it's grown. That clay body would never hold it all."

With those words she unleashed the rage inside of her and with it a massive wave of spiritual energy. It purified Naraku, and his minions, as well as Kikyou. Kagome felt her part of the soul return, and felt whole again. In her hand the nearly full Shikon no Tama sparkled pink.

She turned to the others to see Inuyasha looking at her with disbelief, Miroku was saying a prayer for Kohaku, Sesshomaru had a hand on Rin whom was clinging to his leg, and Sango looked at her with peace in her eyes. The deed was done and it was over. Kouga had come at some point, and now it was he Kagome went to. He handed over the shards, and with hers she fused the jewel to make it whole once more just like her. She looked at the complete jewel.

"What will you wish?" asked Kouga.

Kagome looked up with a watery smile. "Nothing." she replied.

Miroku regarded her. "Why not?" he asked.

She looked at Inuyasha. "The jewel will never disappear because there is no truly unselfish wish. And each wish will only be corrupted and twisted by the demons within the jewel. So I will simply protect it." she replied, looking at each member of their group after Inuyasha, resting on his form again.

Inuyasha nodded. He looked away from Kagome unable to see her right now, but only his dead and lost love. Right now her face was a reminder that was too hard to bear.

Sango pulled her brothers body onto Kirara with herself, and then took off once Miroku and Shippou climbed on behind her. Inuyasha ran below them.

Kagome turned to Kouga. He bowed once. "I must go tell the elders of the wind witch's demise. I will return later." he said and with that he was gone.

Kagome at last faced Sesshomaru. With no one unwanted to see, he bent to his ward, and hugged her. She hugged him back, and then released him. They faced her. "I must return to the castle." he said and Kagome nodded. "What of you miko?" he asked.

She smiled. "I don't know only time will tell." she replied cheerily.

Sesshomaru formed his cloud, and Kagome watched him till he was gone from her sight. She looked over the battlefield, and then she walked away from it all. It was over, but she still had a job to do.

-AJ

--betaed by Eternal Cosmic Sailor Saturn


End file.
